A record 47,500 athletes in total registered for Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend events, up from about 44,000 last year. Some 7,000 runners enjoyed perfect weather Sunday morning for the 40th annual Scotiabank Ottawa Marathon, Canada’s biggest marathon event. Another 12,500 ran the half-marathon.

“We’re thrilled,” said Race Director John Halvorsen of the turnout as the weekend wrapped up. “It’s a great way to celebrate our 40th anniversary.”

Ethiopia’s Yemane Tsegay shattered records Sunday, finishing with a time of two hours, six minutes, 54 seconds. It was the fastest marathon ever run on Canadian soil and shaved more than a minute off the Ottawa Marathon record set last year by another Ethiopian, Tariku Jufar.

Tigist Tufa, also from Ethiopia, was the fastest woman in Sunday’s marathon, with a time of 2:24:31. She beat her own personal best by more than 3 1/2 minutes and beat last year’s record by almost a minute.

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Guelph, Ont.’s Eric Gillis (2:13:47) was the fastest Canadian man and Rhiannon Johns (2:47:11) from Sault Ste. Marie was the fastest Canadian woman.

The weather and the lack of wind were major factors for record-setting runners, said elite athlete coordinator Manny Rodrigues.

“I was cold before the sun came up,” added a T-shirt-clad Halvorsen. “I thought to myself, it’s great for the runners. Sucks for me, but great for the runners.”

The 10K race Saturday also raised a few eyebrows, with Kenyan woman Mary Keitany beating out both her male and female competitors with a time of 31 minutes, 21.4 seconds. The women started with a time advantage of 4:10.

She, too, set a record for the women’s 10K, shaving several seconds off fellow Kenyan Grace Momanyi’s time set in 2005.

Though the men didn’t set any records in this year’s 10K, Rodrigues said the race was still one of the fastest in the world, with six people running faster than 28:30.

Since 2000, registration has boomed, increasing by more than 350 per cent, according to race organizers. The Ottawa Marathon has come a long way. In its first year, on May 25, 1975, just 146 people participated.

This year’s charity drive raised $626,288.15 for 25 participating charities, according to the charity program sponsor, Scotiabank. That number was expected to rise throughout the day Sunday.

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